Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility

Chapter 7 explains that the financial crisis and Barack Obama’s presidency pushed political polarization into extreme political gridlock in Washington. Americans became disgusted. The 2008 financial ...
More

Chapter 7 explains that the financial crisis and Barack Obama’s presidency pushed political polarization into extreme political gridlock in Washington. Americans became disgusted. The 2008 financial crisis exacerbated America’s economic woes and made people angry. The fact that Obama was America’s first African American president made things worse. So did his moves to handle the financial crisis and Great Recession, and reform the national health care system. Trump tapped the public’s anger, turning it to his electoral advantage. He promised that because as a billionaire he wasn’t beholden to anyone, he would unify the country and cut through the gridlock by “draining the swamp” in Washington. And if Congress didn’t cooperate, he said that he would move unilaterally by issuing executive orders that would get the job done. It worked and he was elected president.Less

Gridlock, Crisis, and Obama

John L. Campbell

Published in print: 2018-07-26

Chapter 7 explains that the financial crisis and Barack Obama’s presidency pushed political polarization into extreme political gridlock in Washington. Americans became disgusted. The 2008 financial crisis exacerbated America’s economic woes and made people angry. The fact that Obama was America’s first African American president made things worse. So did his moves to handle the financial crisis and Great Recession, and reform the national health care system. Trump tapped the public’s anger, turning it to his electoral advantage. He promised that because as a billionaire he wasn’t beholden to anyone, he would unify the country and cut through the gridlock by “draining the swamp” in Washington. And if Congress didn’t cooperate, he said that he would move unilaterally by issuing executive orders that would get the job done. It worked and he was elected president.

John L. Campbell

Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility

This book is about how Donald Trump, who had no prior public service, became president of the United States. It argues that Trump capitalized on a wave of increasing public discontent that stemmed ...
More

This book is about how Donald Trump, who had no prior public service, became president of the United States. It argues that Trump capitalized on a wave of increasing public discontent that stemmed from the demise of the country’s Golden Age of prosperity. This involved decades-long trends in the American economy, race relations, ideology, and political polarization, all of which fueled rising discontent across America. It reached a tipping point by the time Barack Obama was elected president. When the 2008 financial crisis hit and Obama was elected the first African American president, he tried to resolve the crisis and fix the nation’s ailing health care system. But in doing so he pushed rising discontent over the edge. Political gridlock in Washington resulted. Discontent skyrocketed. Americans were fed up and looked for a savior. Trump was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and rode that wave of discontent all the way to the White House.Less

American Discontent : The Rise of Donald Trump and Decline of the Golden Age

John L. Campbell

Published in print: 2018-07-26

This book is about how Donald Trump, who had no prior public service, became president of the United States. It argues that Trump capitalized on a wave of increasing public discontent that stemmed from the demise of the country’s Golden Age of prosperity. This involved decades-long trends in the American economy, race relations, ideology, and political polarization, all of which fueled rising discontent across America. It reached a tipping point by the time Barack Obama was elected president. When the 2008 financial crisis hit and Obama was elected the first African American president, he tried to resolve the crisis and fix the nation’s ailing health care system. But in doing so he pushed rising discontent over the edge. Political gridlock in Washington resulted. Discontent skyrocketed. Americans were fed up and looked for a savior. Trump was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and rode that wave of discontent all the way to the White House.

Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility

Chapter 1 summarizes the book’s core argument—that Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency did not occur so much from the contingencies of the election per se (e.g. his campaign strategy, Russian ...
More

Chapter 1 summarizes the book’s core argument—that Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency did not occur so much from the contingencies of the election per se (e.g. his campaign strategy, Russian meddling, Hillary Clinton’s emails, FBI director James Comey’s investigation, Trump’s media experience as a TV celebrity, etc.) but from deep and long-standing trends in American Society that stretched back decades. These economic, racial, ideological, and political trends were triggered by the demise of America’s Golden Age of prosperity immediately following World War II. They reached a tipping point by the time Barack Obama was elected president. Obama’s election and administration pushed dissatisfaction over the edge. Trump capitalized on it to win the presidency.Less

How Did This Happen?

John L. Campbell

Published in print: 2018-07-26

Chapter 1 summarizes the book’s core argument—that Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency did not occur so much from the contingencies of the election per se (e.g. his campaign strategy, Russian meddling, Hillary Clinton’s emails, FBI director James Comey’s investigation, Trump’s media experience as a TV celebrity, etc.) but from deep and long-standing trends in American Society that stretched back decades. These economic, racial, ideological, and political trends were triggered by the demise of America’s Golden Age of prosperity immediately following World War II. They reached a tipping point by the time Barack Obama was elected president. Obama’s election and administration pushed dissatisfaction over the edge. Trump capitalized on it to win the presidency.